


Clean Cut

by PeppyBismilk



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, Friendship, M/M, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), hints of romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-04-24 17:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22220083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeppyBismilk/pseuds/PeppyBismilk
Summary: Usually Caspar's the one who needs rescuing, but when Linhardt's messy room finally catches up with him, Caspar steps in to save the day.
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Hevring
Comments: 8
Kudos: 79





	Clean Cut

“Linhardt!” calls a voice from outside the library. “If you don’t open your door, I’m coming in! Don’t tell me you forgot about room inspections!”

_ A shame, _ Linhardt thinks as he blinks himself out of another blissful dream. Life had been so pleasant in his library: rows and rows of books he’d never even heard of, a mountain of pastries, and not a classroom or weapon in sight...

He’s sitting up when Seteth spells his door open. “What’s the hurry?” Linhardt wonders aloud. “I was just getting up.”

Seteth’s eyes go wide, not at Linhardt but at his surroundings. “Linhardt, what is the meaning of this?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Linhardt yawns out. His room disappoints him, too, but so do all of the dorms. They’re so small. “Is there a problem?”

“That would be putting it lightly.” Seteth bends over to inspect a teetering stack of books—all on differences in the manifestation of Major and Minor Crests—Linhardt hopes he doesn’t disturb the bookmarks. “You’d think this was your first room inspection.”

Linhardt rubs his eyes. “We have to pass room inspections? What does tidiness have to do with being an officer? Surely it has no bearing on academic prowess…”

“It’s about discipline. Setting a good example.” Seteth says it like it’s obvious. “Imagine the state of your barracks if their commanding officer lives in a pigsty!”

“A pigsty?” Linhardt wrinkles his nose in offense. Pigsties stink, and Linhardt’s room is just a little cluttered. He takes his personal hygiene very seriously, which is more than he can say for some of his classmates. “I need to organize my books, yes, but I’d hardly call this a pigsty. Furthermore, I have no intention of commanding _barracks_.” Even the word sours his tongue. “Someone else can sort that out.” 

Seteth crosses his arms. “I suppose you plan on commanding an army of books once you graduate?” 

Linhardt can picture it: reading every book in the library, sorting them according to discipline and usefulness, forming research collectives instead of battalions. With a little magic, the books could march across the floor like soldiers, and he chuckles at the thought. 

“I was speaking in jest!” Seteth snaps (even though Linhardt’s never known him to have a sense of humor). “You are as unfit to lead books as you are armies, and if you fail any more room inspections, you may not graduate at all!”

The force of his words shakes Linhardt, but he recovers quickly. Graduation isn’t necessary to continue his studies, though failing (especially for something as trivial as cleanliness) would mar his reputation in certain academic circles.

A sigh disrupts his thoughts, and when he looks up, Seteth is rubbing his temples and pursing his lips. “I apologize for raising my voice. You are a commendable scholar, but the Academy has standards to uphold. I’ll be back tomorrow for another inspection, and I expect to see marked improvement.”

Shaking his head like he’s the one in trouble, Seteth takes his leave. 

Linhardt glances around his room. Parchment scraps span the floor like a patchwork rug with dried quills and empty ink pots filling the spaces between, and Linhardt counts at least thirty books in varying states of consumption. He has a system, but even he can’t begin to defend it.

“Perhaps I did let things get a little out of hand…”

“You can say that again!” Caspar appears at his door, a much more welcome presence than Seteth at this early hour. “I can help you clean your room!”

A laugh slips past Linhardt’s lips before he can stop it. 

“What?” Caspar looks like a puppy when he pouts, or perhaps a goby. Too cute to eat.

“I’m sorry,” Linhardt says, “but _clean_ isn’t the first word I associate with you.” Even when Caspar hasn’t been training, he has a bit of an aroma to him. Not to mention how he always manages to dribble food down his shirt, or the way he devours meat on the bone, licking the grease and sauce from each fingertip like it’s his last meal while Linhardt looks on in horrified fascination…

“I’ll bet you a week of stable duty that my room’s cleaner than yours is!” Caspar says, snapping Linhardt out of his strange daydream. 

“Let’s not go that far.” With another yawn, Linhardt gets out of bed. “I believe you. And I accept your kind offer.”

“Great!” Caspar cracks his knuckles and starts to gather all the parchment scraps. 

For a moment, Linhardt just watches. When has Caspar ever attacked a task with such vigor? Other than eating or training, that is. “Caspar…” he begins, slowly, carefully. There has to be a catch.

“Mmm?” Caspar doesn’t even look up from collecting socks—how is he already on the next task? “If you’re not sure where to start, you should tackle the books. I don’t want to mess up your bookmarks.”

“It’s not that.” Warmth in Linhardt’s chest derails his thoughts for a moment. “But thank you, that’s very considerate. I was just wondering what you wanted in return.”

Finally, Caspar meets his eyes. Caspar’s eyes match his hair and it floors Linhard every time. “Nothing! Why would I want something in return?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Linhardt bends down to pick up a book and it pains him. “You can’t tell me you do this for fun.”

“C’mon, Lin, it’s not so bad!” But Caspar isn’t looking at him anymore. He’s focused on a pile of dirt on the floor.

“Ah, my runic annelid.” Linhardt scoops up the dirt and his worm, depositing them both into an empty pie plate from the dining hall. He brushes his hands off on his uniform. “I’m observing its lifecycle. But please tell me, which part of this process is enjoyable? I’m already exhausted.”

“If it’s that bad, you can just nap and I’ll finish up,” Caspar mutters. It’s tempting—the bed is so soft and warm—but Caspar’s shoulders are hunched and he sounds unhappy. 

With a heavy sigh, Linhardt picks up another few books and stacks them on his shelf. “What’s really going on, Caspar? I’ll do your homework for you.”

“You don’t have to do anything, okay?” Caspar grinds out. “I just don’t want you to get kicked out of school!”

“Ah.” Suddenly, Linhardt feels foolish, and a little guilty. “So, you overheard the results of my room inspection.”

Caspar nods, eyes burning bright. “And the last one, and the one before that. I don’t think Seteth’s kidding! If you get sent home, your father…”

“...would meet me with smug resignation, irked and yet not at all surprised to discover that his layabout son didn’t make it through the Officers Academy.” Linhardt yawns as he says it. “No, if the academy were to dismiss me, I would simply find a new place to call home.”

Caspar stands up so fast that Linhardt can feel the blood rushing to his head sympathetically. A book falls off the shelf, but Linhard can’t look away from Caspar.

“I won’t let them kick you out!” Caspar makes a fist and pounds his own hand like he does before a fight. “I’ll clean your room every week if I have to!”

Linhardt takes a deep breath. It’s touching, but when Caspar gets all worked up like this, he needs a calming influence. Reassurance. “That won’t be necessary.” 

“You want to leave?” Caspar stammers. 

That cute pout breaks Linhardt’s heart now, but he just shakes his head calmly. “I’ll clean my own room.” He yawns again. “Since you’re so determined to stay here, I may as well stick it out with you.” 

And just like that, Caspar’s grin returns. With his fin of hair, he really does look like a fish, but Linhardt keeps that to himself. 

“Really?” Caspar laughs, loud like always. “All right!”

Linhardt smiles back at him. He doesn’t particularly want to wander off into the world on his own right now, at least not by himself. Someone has to keep Caspar out of trouble, and who else will wake Linhardt up when there’s danger?

Still, this means he has to clean. The room is getting better, but he doubts he’s passing just yet. Just the thought has him fighting more yawns. 

“Maybe you could look at cleaning like an experiment?” Caspar suggests, stowing a pile of quills in the desk drawer.

“An experiment?” Linhardt repeats. He blows dust off of a book on the deciduous plants of Almyra that he doesn’t even remember borrowing from the library. He’ll have to read it again before returning it. “Perhaps there is value in determining whether I am able to retain more information in a tidier workspace. You’re brilliant, Caspar.”

Pride and relief set Caspar’s cheeks aflame, and it’s almost worth the hassle of cleaning. Linhardt makes a mental note to compliment him more often.

“I promise, you can have a big, long nap after we’re done!” Caspar says. “I won’t let anyone bother you.”

“That sounds delightful.” It’s an understatement.  _ Inspired _ is a better word.  _ Ingenius,_ even.  Linhardt has to move on before he gets carried away with the praise and gratitude or else he may start blushing, too. “Now, please teach me everything you know about the science of dusting.”

As it happens, dusting is a terrible nuisance, but at least it’s not as bad as combat training. Working in a clean room doesn’t make him feel any more organized, but knowing Garreg Mach offers more than just Crest studies? Well, that’s fine groundwork for a big, long nap. 

**Author's Note:**

> I keep thinking about how Caspar's room is neater than Linhardt's, and since it's a military academy, maybe they have room inspections to worry about on top of everything else. But also, I'm planning more FE3H stories and I wanted to try to get a feel for writing more characters. Thanks so much for reading!


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